Golson

[Lillyliverd]

I know that I will probably piss off most of you with what I am writing but here goes.

Golson was just a mediocre quarterback in 2011. We all liked the idea of Golson and the prospect of Golson's future, but look at his numbers and he was just average as a quarterback and he was just average among freshman quarterback. Freshmen Johnny Manziel, Brett Hundley, and other freshmen quarterbacks had far more impressive QB numbers than Golson. Some of you now are probably thinking, "but Golson could run too, he was a dual threat". Golson was 44th among quarterbacks in rushing. Rees has better QB numbers in 2013 than Golson in 2012. Rees is a pariah and Golson will be our savior?

Rees and Hendrix are in their 4th year under BK. Rees and Hendrix; one sucks and the other is awful. Why should I believe Golson will improve and become a good quarterback? Te'o and Floyd were special as freshmen. Golson was not special as a freshmen except in the eyes of Irish homers. I know Golson has worked out in California and he could return as a much better player but things will be different for Golson next year.

Next year, Golson won't have the luxury of a 2012 type defense. Next year, Golson won't have a reliever, and he won't be getting a pass for being a freshman. Golson is going to feel more pressure.
I don't see how anyone could look back on last year's season and give credit to Golson for our record. We won games because our defense was bad ass and our offense was good enough to cover the few points yielded by our outstanding defense. If you think Golson is good enough to make up for the shortcomings of this team I think you will be very disappointed next year.

 

[Lillyliverd]

Should have written, "Golson was just a mediocre quarterback in 2012".

 

[idseer]

i wonder what those figures would look like if 'the other 44' comparables faced the pressure competition golson faced. i know his numbers weren't exceptional but he brought a dynamic to the team no other qb has in a long time and i think his upside was very good. they didn't need a 'great' qb last year. they didn't need a great qb this year for that matter ... just one who didn't lose games for us and kept the opposing defenses honest.

i'm still looking forward to his return.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

I was bashed by many last season, for saying the same thing.

Golson isn't much better than Rees. That's just a fact.

 

[matthstl]

If you really look at stats you have to break them down to first half and second have of the year. His numbers were not good in first half. In second half we all saw what special player he is going to be and you know why Keil left for Cincy. Golson was made for this O. Golson has better arm and right now he needs some of the game time snaps again. Big difference I see is Tommy trys to throw away his mistakes which turns into a pick and Golson runs out of it.

Another one that everyone misses is Golson actually had pretty good game vs. Alabama. There were three or four drops in the game were he laid it right in hands of reciever and one horrible call on Eifert in the first set of downs. His stats in the game 21-36 270 yards 1 td and 1 pick which was a deflection off WR which should have been caught. I thought of any player you could say did ok in that game it was Golson. In my view he was getting better and better as season went on.

I do not agree with you at all on Golson. My only issue like any QB in the pistol which ND runs is Golson could get injured happen in Stanford game so we need a good back up not average back up a good one. You cannot compare Golson to Tommy there is no way. Just look at Savage from Pitt at least he can see wide field open to run few yards has anyone seen that ever from Tommy?

 

[jjc2009]

I know that I will probably piss off most of you with what I am writing but here goes.

Golson was just a mediocre quarterback in 2011. We all liked the idea of Golson and the prospect of Golson's future, but look at his numbers and he was just average as a quarterback and he was just average among freshman quarterback. Freshmen Johnny Manziel, Brett Hundley, and other freshmen quarterbacks had far more impressive QB numbers than Golson. Some of you now are probably thinking, "but Golson could run too, he was a dual threat". Golson was 44th among quarterbacks in rushing. Rees has better QB numbers in 2013 than Golson in 2012. Rees is a pariah and Golson will be our savior?

Rees and Hendrix are in their 4th year under BK. Rees and Hendrix; one sucks and the other is awful. Why should I believe Golson will improve and become a good quarterback? Te'o and Floyd were special as freshmen. Golson was not special as a freshmen except in the eyes of Irish homers. I know Golson has worked out in California and he could return as a much better player but things will be different for Golson next year.

Next year, Golson won't have the luxury of a 2012 type defense. Next year, Golson won't have a reliever, and he won't be getting a pass for being a freshman. Golson is going to feel more pressure.
I don't see how anyone could look back on last year's season and give credit to Golson for our record. We won games because our defense was bad ass and our offense was good enough to cover the few points yielded by our outstanding defense. If you think Golson is good enough to make up for the shortcomings of this team I think you will be very disappointed next year.

Okay, I'll bite:

I agree, his numbers didn't set the world on fire. Statisitcally, he was, in fact, a mediocre QB. I believe his completion percentage was 58%, in a pass-happy spread offense, thats not that good, even if it is marginally better than 2013 Tommy Rees. That said, I think there were a number of factors that played into that. First, Kelly seemed to limit the playbook and made him more of a game manager than a gun slinger. I think the team philosophy was to ride the defense as much as possible and not give the game away on turnovers. Second, he was a greenhorn QB but was not a true freshman. He was a redshirt freshman (as was Manziel and Jameis Winston are/were). Of course, the comparison is to last year's Heisman winner and the probable Heisman winner this year. Thats pretty rarified air to compare him. I think there's a healthy medium between medicore and "the best player in college football" and Golson probably falls in there. I don't think he'll ever be Heisman caliber, but I think his ceiling is much higher than Rees' will ever be. I think the point of your post was to show that being young and inexperienced isn't quite the handicap to greatness that many would like to make out, but Manziel and Winston are the exception, not the norm. Even Hundley is mistake prone and last year benefitted from a solid running game that took a step or two back this year. Third, its hard to deny that Golson started last year slowly, getting booted in the Purdue and Michigan games. Its also undeniable that he improved a lot as the year went on. He matured a lot on the field and showed a lot of confidence against Oklahoma and even at Pitt. He was a little rattled against Stanford until he went down, but wasn't terrible in that game.

For me, I think its all relative. He brought a dimension to the game that Rees never will, he was able to extend plays with his feet, and no, he's not a rushing QB, and he'd be the first to tell you that, but he's not afraid to tuck and run to get the first down when the play isn't there, whereas the guy we have now stands there like a statue and hucks it out of bounds (apparently he couldn't move a couple of yards to get out of the tackle box) or into double/triple coverage. He can avoid a rush and make a deep throw on the run. I think the excitement is not in the numbers he produced, but his upside and the fact that he got better as the season went on, coupled with the workouts he's had while in exile, and if you saw the pictures, he's bulked up a bit, there is reason to believe that as "mediocre" as he was, he'll definitely get better.

Now the caveats, (1) he could always decide ND isn't worth it and move on, the glowing SI statements notiwithstanding and (2) ND still has to let him back, which I am not sure is a given. I hope he does and he's ready next year and, yes, I certainly hope he does better than 2012.

 

[purguy12]

Yes he was avg but he was getting better and usually QBs make a nice jump in year 2. Golson would keep plays alive and wouldn't take sacks like Rees. Golson keeps the D honest where Rees they dare him to throw the ball. I think our running game would be a lot better with Golson in the game. Defense would have to worry about our run and the pass and godson running the ball.

 

[poewelch84]

Rees is awful and couldn't have gone undefeated with that defense last year, that is a fact.

 

[whywork2]

It's simple, Golson brought something to the table that Tommy Rees only dreamed of, athletic ability. Golson has a strong arm and is sufficiently mobile, most of the big plays he made were because of his ability to extend plays. Tommy Rees never extended a play in his life, it's not in his DNA. Let's not break this down and overcomplicate things. Golson has to develop and doubt he's going to be a great pocket passer simply due to his height but his upside over Rees was night and day.

 

[purguy12]

Only Positive about next year is we will have WRs and RBs and TEs. Oline will be so so and D should take another step back.

 

[jjc2009]

Only Positive about next year is we will have WRs and RBs and TEs. Oline will be so so and D should take another step back.

I think we're set up to do very well on the offensive line. We're only losing zach Martin and watt. I know two important pieces but Elmer has been slated to replace Martin and he's already got good experience this season. We have had a couple of good OL recruiting cycles and are poised for one this year too. The main recruiting concern now is DL and in particular DT.

 

[purguy12]

Yes D will be an issue. There should be no excuses next year with the offense.

 

[Lillyliverd]

Yes he was avg but he was getting better and usually QBs make a nice jump in year 2. Golson would keep plays alive and wouldn't take sacks like Rees. Golson keeps the D honest where Rees they dare him to throw the ball. I think our running game would be a lot better with Golson in the game. Defense would have to worry about our run and the pass and godson running the ball.

Rees has been sacked 8 times this year. Golson was sacked 15 times last year. Maybe Golson didn't "take sacks like Rees" but I think it will end up that he took more.

Regarding the running game, ND was a much better rushing team last year. You can give credit to Golson for that but I am not so sure that Golson was the reason we rushed more. We are not calling as many rushing plays as we did last year. As I see it, Golson may have benefited from a team that was much better at rushing rather than being the reason we ran the ball with more success. If you establish a rushing game, it helps the passing game and the reverse is also true. With a solid defense we had the luxury of running the ball because our opponents were scoring so few points.

ND opponents have already scored more than double the points that ND opponents scored through 12 games last year. ND has had to overcome an average of 12 more points per game than Golson in 2012. All Golson had to do was manage the games and for the most part he did an admirable job. Lucky for Golson, he was bailed out by Rees in the Michigan game. For those of you giving credit to Golson for our 12-1 record let me remind you of what a disaster Golson was in the Michigan game. The first play was an interception, then rush for no gain, incomplete, complete, incomplete, incomplete, complete, complete, interception. Then Rees came in and went 8-11 with a rushing TD.

In my original post, I said Rees sucks. By no means was I trying to imply that I would rather have Rees than Golson, but it is a fact that Golson was nowhere close to being a great QB last year. I believe Golson has potential and I am hopeful he will return as a better QB, but unless he gets significantly better he will not be the answer to our QB prayers.

 

[purguy12]

Rees has been sacked 8 times this year. Golson was sacked 15 times last year. Maybe Golson didn't "take sacks like Rees" but I think it will end up that he took more.

Regarding the running game, ND was a much better rushing team last year. You can give credit to Golson for that but I am not so sure that Golson was the reason we rushed more. We are not calling as many rushing plays as we did last year. As I see it, Golson may have benefited from a team that was much better at rushing rather than being the reason we ran the ball with more success. If you establish a rushing game, it helps the passing game and the reverse is also true. With a solid defense we had the luxury of running the ball because our opponents were scoring so few points.

ND opponents have already scored more than double the points that ND opponents scored through 12 games last year. ND has had to overcome an average of 12 more points per game than Golson in 2012. All Golson had to do was manage the games and for the most part he did an admirable job. Lucky for Golson, he was bailed out by Rees in the Michigan game. For those of you giving credit to Golson for our 12-1 record let me remind you of what a disaster Golson was in the Michigan game. The first play was an interception, then rush for no gain, incomplete, complete, incomplete, incomplete, complete, complete, interception. Then Rees came in and went 8-11 with a rushing TD.

In my original post, I said Rees sucks. By no means was I trying to imply that I would rather have Rees than Golson, but it is a fact that Golson was nowhere close to being a great QB last year. I believe Golson has potential and I am hopeful he will return as a better QB, but unless he gets significantly better he will not be the answer to our QB prayers.

I agree he isn't great but he would start on a lot of college football teams. Rees not so many. Overall we better see a much better offense next year. There are no excuses. If the offense sucks we should fire Kelly.

 

[Lillyliverd]

I would love to have good offense, defense, special teams, and coaching next year. More than that I would be satisfied to see an Irish team beat inferior opponents the way we should beat them even if we lost games to good teams. I can accept losing to a good team, but losing to Pitt is shameful. If Kelly can't get his team to play consistently good football, we are likely to suffer through more humiliating losses and disappointing seasons. Kelly has the personnel to build a top 10 team but he has to do a better job of coaching.

 

[purguy12]

I would love to have good offense, defense, special teams, and coaching next year. More than that I would be satisfied to see an Irish team beat inferior opponents the way we should beat them even if we lost games to good teams. I can accept losing to a good team, but losing to Pitt is shameful. If Kelly can't get his team to play consistently good football, we are likely to suffer through more humiliating losses and disappointing seasons. Kelly has the personnel to build a top 10 team but he has to do a better job of coaching.

I agree with you on that. No reason to lose to Pitt or have a close game with Navy or teams like that. Look losing to Sooners or a good USC team that's 1 thing but to lose to these not so good teams is embarrassing.

 

[NDHoosier101]

Golson reapplied to the university today.

 

[purguy12]

Get ready for spring ball Golson

 

[poewelch84]

Best news of the day, hopefully Turnover Tommy doesn't strike on senior day.

 

[socaljim242]

Best news of the day, hopefully Turnover Tommy doesn't strike on senior day.

Is Tommy eligible for a fifth year? Please tell me he is.lol